LeisureArts has started a new archive documenting the ubiquity of the Charlie's Angels pose in vernacular photography. Contributions to the Charlie's Angels Pose Archive are welcome! Over 600 [UPDATE: now 800] images can be seen here. This is a work in progress - further exposition and analysis are forthcoming.

The Affected Provincial's Companion Volume One: A Bounteous Selection of ESSAYS, PHILOSOPHICAL DIAGRAMS, POETRY, and Other Arcadian Follies Concerning the Art of CURIOUS LIVING and the Reintroductions of ANCIENT CHARM into This Vale of Mud and Tears Known Heretofore as the MODERN LIFE by Lord Breaulove Swells Whimsy

We watched it blossom from a web-based collection, to a bound pamphlet, and into a full blown book. It is yet another core theoretical text for LeisureArts (we will eventually publish a comprehensive LeisureArts bibliography). Lord Whimsy's book is far too densely packed with material to adequately preview here, but we'll offer up three key concepts.

Re: the Affected Provincial - "...is a mischievous child of the Enlightenment; a playful syncretist who pays little heed to the illusory chasms placed betwixt the disparate spheres that lie within humanity's purview. Deeply interested in ideas and enterprises of modest, human scale that enhance everyday life, the Affected Provincial has A Rebours on the desk, an ant farm in the study, and a half-built dirigible in the garden."

Re: Thrilletantism: Or the Beneficial Effects of Artistic and Philosophical Lycanthropy by Means of Incessant Dabbling - "...not burdened with a blinding omnipotence in any one field of endeavor, he or she may focus on exploration and on using said exploration as a foundation on which to build an interesting, broad, yet thoughtful life - the fruits of which are generously shared with others...The Thrilletante understands the value of play, its fluidity of mind, and the interesting failures that are its children...thereby creating a vast network of interrelated nodes of erudition that serve as a kind of improvised expertise in their own right...Thrilletantes know that the most interesting coordinates by which to plot one's course are 'around' and 'between.'"

Re: Dandyism: A Curious, Slightly Venerable Practice - "Nothing is trivial to the dandy, except perhaps a trivial amount of thought. By paying considerable attention to detail, the dandy can cultivate a personal sphere in which everything is of great importance...The dandy is the focus of his own artistry; his dress, manner, speech, and mind are his palette. Because of his strong desire to become what Oscar Wilde dubbed 'a living work of art,' the dandy is a creature often compelled to seek communion with the exquisite, the inanimate, and the serene."

Lord Whimsy provides a manifesto for curious living, generous self-cultivation, and playful dabbling. In short, it is an articulation of the sort of everyday practice that LeisureArts covets. To misquote Lord Whimsy, "Rather than having hobbies in life, make your life a hobby."

"Beautiful sea, beautiful sea, Oh, how I love on thy bosom to roam; Foaming and free, foaming and free, There is my resting place, there is my home." - sung for Bas Jan Ader's In Search of the Miraculous, Part II farewell.